The Scoop:
I felt like a kid in a candy store in regards to the fitness scene in Los Angeles. There were SO many cool classes to take and luckily a ton of them were also in West Hollywood where I was staying.
I’m sure I’ve used the VersaClimber at some point over the years, but this was certainly my first experience with a class that was all VersaClimber, all the time.
As Miley Cyrus once sang “it’s all about the climb”… or in this case the literal act of climbing for 30 minutes straight.
The Deets:
Rise Nation
613 N La Cienega Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
Website || instagram || facebook
$26/ single class
The Studio:
From the second I walked in, I was impressed with how friendly and helpful the staff was. Before going into the actual studio, one of the front desk staff members gave me a tutorial on a VersaClimber in the lobby… and warned me that my feet might go numb but that’s totally normal. Uh, what?
The studio doesn’t have a shower (which seems to be the norm for LA) but does have a lovely outdoor patio area where you can hang out after class. You stash your stuff in the room and don’t have to worry about lockers.
Much like a spin studio, you’re assigned a “climber” beforehand. I love how the ceiling reminded me of a rock wall and the lights changed in time with the music.
The Class:
I took the standard class called “The Climb” which is a 30 minute class that uses the rhythm of the music to inform the pace of your climbing. In this way it really reminded me of a good spin class since the movements were totally tapped into the tempo of the music. This is something I’ve always loved about music focused spin class, the former musician in me wants to move to the tempo anyway. This also means you’re getting some quality interval training in since choruses tend to be more amped up than verses.
The instructor played Green Day so that’s an automatic win in my book. My musical taste is basically limited to show tunes, some ska music, music my parents like and Green Day so it’s rare I hear a song I genuinely love while working out. You bet I was rocking out to Holiday with my awkward climbing motion.
It took me a little while to feel comfortable with the movement on the climbers, it’s slightly unnatural and I kept looking around the room wondering why everyone seemed like they were climbing so smooth and effortlessly and whereas I felt like a spazz who couldn’t move the machine through the full range of motion. With more practice, I’d feel more confident on the machine and like I was getting more of a total body workout.
My biggest complaint was that the class felt repetitive, there’s only so much you can do on the VersaClimber (climb, and climb faster…). I feel the same way about certain spin classes too if we’re not changing up the movement a ton. I also have a bum shoulder (yes, I injured it 4+ years ago and it still sucks) so the repetitive upward movement with the arms was difficult for me.
With that being said, it was shocking hard overall to keep moving that whole time. There’s no momentum helping you or making it easier so it’s all work for 30 minutes straight. Talk about tough.
[image via]
Bottom Line:
There’s a learning curve, but Rise Nation still provides a sweaty work out in only 30 minutes.
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